On the road, I lived these stories this summer. On August 4, I sat in my aisle seat aboard U.S. Air in Munich, Germany. Our E.O. group was headed home via Philadelphia.
We were returning home from the 2010 Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. A German girl, nearly 6-feet tall, took the window seat beside me. She was headed to Nashville via Philadelphia to vacation with family friends.
It was Jana’s (pronounced Yana) first flight. Yes, her parents approved the trip even though her dad has terminal cancer. Jana had graduated from high school and expected to enter college in September.
Academically inclined, fluent in German, French and English, Jana needed a little coaching and comforting.
Members of our E.O. group met Jana. Then, I helped her with questions about American money and America. We reviewed her Immigration Form and promised to help her through customs, transfer her luggage, and walk with her to the Nashville gate in Philadelphia.
After that, Jana relaxed and enjoyed her first flight. In Philly, Jana and I went through customs, got her bags to the transfer desk and walked to her gate. She thanked me and we parted.
It felt like a father helping his daughter get from point A to point B safely. More than that, the story had to do with ministry on the road. Had a member of our E.O. group not exchanged his aisle seat for my middle seat, I would not have met Jana.
But I guess it’s no different than the stranger I met at Wendy’s in South Haven.
